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Topic: Aargh!! This is why I don't go to the movies any more! (Read 12636 times)

I've long since given up attending the movies on a regular basis, purely because of the unacceptable behaviour of some of the other patrons. I was so 'shell shocked' after a visit on 3 January 2005 that it was 4 1/2 years till I returned. Today though I gave in and took the boys and some of their friends to see "Karate Kid".

We were seated in the back row on the far side of the theatre. However, we were still able to hear the ringing of a mobile phone of a couple on the opposite side of the room, not once, not twice, but three times! Each time the girl answered it and had a conversation. (This was on top of the other non-phone conversations this couple was having). By the third call I complained to an usher (why I didn't complain after the first, and definitely the second I'll never know). She handled it very well, by evicting the troublemakers.

The troublemakers didn't leave quietly though (surprise surprise ). They thought it was a good idea to bash each other with their plastic shopping bags as they were arguing over whose fault it was that they'd been evicted (well, duh you're both to blame). The girl troublemaker then went and complained to someone else seated in the middle of the room and sounded completely amazed that she wasn't allowed to use her phone in the middle of a movie.

One they'd gone that just left the 'standard' stupid, rude, ignorant people (adults) who thought it was okay to talk during the movie, the older kids (ages 8-10) from various groups who thought it was okay to stand up at random times, the rustling of the food wrappers...

The manager did give us free passes for our inconvenience/annoyance. Not sure if I'll ever venture back in order to use them though.

We've never had a huge problem with noise during movies (except for that one time during The Alamo when two older women were talking and laughing while everyone in the Alamo proceeded to die, which was so sensitive of them).

Our problem is that, when four of us went to the movies, it cost us $42 dollars for food. We had free ticket passes; otherwise it would have cost us about $74 total. Movie theaters really aren't worth it for us.

Now we wait for the movie to come out onto the movie channels. We used to rent movies when they came out, but all the rental stores in our town are closed except for Blockbuster, and they want a credit card number on file (which I am not comfortable with as they automatically charge for late days, and I've had so many experiences returning items only for someone to not check them in, thus incorrectly charging me).

I always think this sort of thread is interesting. DH and I go to a lot of movies. I joke that once a movie is out of the theater it's dead to me because I don't like watching videos (I think I watched two dvds last year). Last Saturday we went to 4 movies (Inception, Predators, Toy Story 3, and Knight and Day). We didn't buy any food, so it wasn't that expensive (no problem for me, mom never let me buy the food at the theater as a kid and it's too fattening for me anyway). And we really had no obnoxious people in any of them.

Every time I read one of the many, many threads on someone rude at the movie theater, I'm always amazed on how lucky I must be. I go to the movies at least once every 2-3 weeks and have only been annoyed by other people twice in the last oh, 10 years of movie-going. I remember both of those times BECAUSE it was so rare. Both times, it was a children's movie and the annoyances were kids that I just felt were being given a bit too free a reign, but really, considering they were children's matinees, I couldn't even be too annoyed. I wonder where all of these bad theater are... Yay Virginia, I guess.

The only time I had issues with movie theater patrons was during a midnight showing of a Harry Potter movie (I think it was the third one). A child about 3 or 4 years old kept asking "what's that" during most of the movie. Other than that my experiences in the theater have been enjoyable. Probably helps that the ushers at my local theater are super strict with the no cell phone policy.

Logged

"If you don't like something, then change it. If you can't change it, then change your attitude towards it."

i haven't gone to the movie theater in years. it's annoying, but it got to be too expensive and too annoying (and the expense just doubled up my annoyance). the noise, the cell phones, the SMSs, people getting up and down a million times, people not reading their tickets correctly and just assuming that *my* seat is *their* seat and starting a "show me your ticket - no, you show me your ticket" war... not worth it to me.

DH and I went out to see The Sorcerer's Apprentice at the local "Theater and Bar" place. [I'd never been somewhere like that before, so it was a special occasion. I can't wait until the one closer to us opens.]

Periodically through the 7:30pm showing we'd hear a baby crying. You know, during the really quiet sensitive scenes? When we left the theater, I noticed a toddler leaving too, so I don't know if it was him or another child as well, but I was kinda like... DH and I chose this place because it was our anniversary (12th) and we knew they did not permit small children - we dropped our kids off at the local drop-in day/evening care place (they love it there - too bad DS ages out of it this coming winter).

When you check ticket availability online, it says rather clearly:

Quote

No children under 6 are allowed at any time EXCEPT for {a bunch of exceptions that had nothing to do with us as our site was not named in the list}.

Additionally, every single page on their website has this in the footer: 18 AND UP ALL SHOWS - NO CHILDREN UNDER 6 UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED

I should have given our server a note complaining about the crying. I suppose it got on my nerves more than a normal theater because it was supposed to be a somewhat child-free venue. I don't know how they got in with him. But then again, after DH checked at the front booth with our printout, no one checked our "tickets" - I think we could have walked right in.

On the plus side, everyone heeded the 4 screens of warnings about talking and cell phone usage.

Since the Great Pickle-Throwing Incident of 2005, I have to really, really want to see a movie in the theater. It's a shame because DH loves going to see movies.

Camlan beat me to it .

I've seen exactly two movies this year (in a theatre)-Karate Kid and Despicable Me. DM was Friday evening, and perhaps that's why there weren't many kids around. The movie was one of the best I'd seen in a long time, and everything went well. A Saturday matinee might have been a different story.

A friend has told me that the "dollar theatre", where second-run movies play, is very pleasant and much smaller than a gargantuan multiplex.

sammycat, I'm glad that you at least got some free passes. I hope you can use them some time.

DH and I don't go to kids' movies, we don't go on opening weekends, and, if I go alone, I go to the first matinee (ca 11:00 am) when there are usually only a handful of people in the theater. These steps go a long way toward minimizing problems but there is always a chance that there will be someone who doesn't know what to do with his phone or someone who thinks if you just stand in the stairwell with the crying baby, then that's ok. ("If they can't see us, they can't hear us." )

I'm not ready to give up on going to the movie theater yet but I can understand why a lot of people have.

Maybe you can choose movies and theaters where the audience is almost part of the show. Aside from "Rocky Horror", I mean.

I remember 'back in the day' ... a badly-located theater that had given up trying to attract the general public ... Saturday night triple features from Hong Kong subtitled in English and two flavors of Chinese all at once ... steamed buns and squid jerky at the refreshment stand ... audiences about half Asian and half ghetto ... you never knew when someone would jump up, smack his fist into his hand and shout "kick that sucka! Yeah, smack him!"

I don't go to the movies all that often, but when I do I generallly stay away from opening nights of any big movie, and I've found my favorite time to go is on a sunday morning, first thing. Th etheater near me has showings beginning at 10ish; that's when I saw the last Harry Potter movie. And boy did I luck out! The theater was pretty empty, and when I came out around 1, as it was raining, it was PACKED.

Most of the time I just don't have time to go, an dfind it hard to find time to watcfh DVDs, but I can generally wait until something comes on DVD. Although if I can, I'm hoping to see Despicable Me, as it looks cute and funny! Love the minions.

A wee small voice from the back is joining the chorus of those wanting to hear about The Great Pickle-Throwing Incident of '05!

I am one also that though I enjoy going out to the movies, I usually wait for ones I'd like to see come out on dvd. I have encountered some obnoxious folks, not too bad, but ones like the guy apparently not happy with all the endings of LOTR: Return of the King and thus grumbled and jingled his keys relentlessly . Most of all though I am a great procrastinator and it's the main reason why I end up not seeing the film in the theatre but await it's dvd release. Such I'd like to see Despicable Me, and this past week I kept putting off the times I could go, so perhaps this week...